U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
A Profile of Land
Protection Actions
As of September 30, 2002
Jim Rathert/MO Conservation
Clarence Cannon NWR
Land Protection Policy for the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
acquires lands and waters consistent
with legislation, other Congressional
guidelines, and Executive Orders for
the conservation, management, and
where appropriate, restoration of
ecosystems, fish, wildlife, plants, and
related habitat, and to provide for
compatible, wildlife oriented public
use for educational and recreational
purposes.
These lands include national wildlife
refuges, national fish hatcheries,
waterfowl production areas, and
other areas.
We acquire land and water interests
including, but not limited to, fee
title, easements, leases, and other
interests. We encourage donations
of desired lands or interests.
Funding for acquisitions comes from
receipts, such as Federal Duck
Stamp sales, entrance fees to certain
National Wildlife Refuges, import
taxes on arms and ammunition, and
appropriations under the Land and
Water Conservation Fund Act.
John and Karen Hollingsworth/USFWS
Desert NWR
Eminent Domain Policy
The Service, like all Federal agencies,
has the authority to use Eminent
Domain to acquire lands and interest
in lands for the public good through
litigation. The Service, however,
seldom uses this authority. It is our
practice to acquire lands from willing
sellers and we are rarely compelled
to buy specific habitats within a
short period of time.
Service policy is to acquire land
through Eminent Domain only to:
■ determine the legal owner
(clear title),
■ settle a difference of opinion of
value (when the owner is agreeable
to court action), or
■ prevent uses which would cause
irreparable damage to the
resources that the unit was
established to protect.
In all cases, whether or not Eminent
Domain is necessary, the Service
offers not less than market value as
determined by an approved appraisal,
using professional standards and
Federal requirements, i.e., Uniform
Standards of Professional Appraisal
Practice, Uniform Appraisal
Standards for Federal Land
Acquisitions, Uniform Relocation
Assistance and Real Property
Acquisition Policies Act (Public Law
91-646), and Financial Institutions
Reform, Recovery and Enforcement
Act of 1989 (Public Law 101-73).
John and Karen Hollingsworth/USFWS
Canaan Valley NWR
Frequency of U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service Eminent Domain Actions
The Service has used Eminent
Domain sparingly throughout its
land acquisition history. The Service
recognizes the possible social and
economic impacts of acquiring
private property by exercising the
right of Eminent Domain and does
its utmost to avoid using this
approach.
In recent years this has become
increasingly true as greater
emphasis is placed on acquisition
from willing sellers. Over the past
ten years (1993-2002) the Service
has not acquired any acres through
court action (except, with the
concurrence of the seller, actions
used merely to clear title or
settle values).
John and Karen Hollingsworth/USFWS
Fort Niobrara NWR
Mark Emery/USFWS
Alaska Peninsula NWR
Lands Under Control of the Service
as of September 30, 2002
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
acquired fee title or other interests
in 233,961 acres in Fiscal Year 2002,
for a total of over 95,382,237 acres
under our control. Over 82,091,920
of those acres are reserved from the
Public Domain (Public Domain lands
are those lands that have never left
Federal ownership); another
4,742,560 acres were purchased in
fee title; 716,283 acres represent
donations or gifts; 3,545,870 acres
are protected through agreements,
easements or leases; and 4,285,604
acres were acquired by other
Federal agencies. Primary authority
can be transferred to the Service or
we can manage the lands pursuant
to an agreement as an overlay
refuge.
The number of National Wildlife
Refuges increased from 537 in
FY 2001 to 540 in FY 2002.
The counties in which Waterfowl
Production Areas are located total
203 nationwide. We also oversee
69 National Fish Hatcheries,
50 Coordination Areas, and
48 Administrative Sites.
Additional detailed information can
be found in the “Report of Lands
Under Control of the U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service as of September 30,
2002” (see our website address on
back of brochure).
Larry Ditto/USFWS
Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR
Acquisition Summary Fiscal Years 1998 - 2002
(In Acres)
NOTE: Negative acreage will appear when more acres were divested than acquired during the fiscal year (e.g., in FY 1999
the Service relinquished its secondary jurisdiction over certain Bureau of Reclamation public domain lands at the North
Platte National Wildlife Refuge in Nebraska).
Agreement,
Fiscal Acquisition Reserved- Federal Agency Devise or Lease, or Total
Year Transactions Public Domain Transfer/Overlay Gift Purchase Easement Acre
1998 721 1,866 8,676 2,932 83,086 85,680 182,240
1999 803 (-2,782) 925 15,843 124,354 163,581 301,921
2000 872 0 68,095 10,524 55,794 190,208 325,621
2001 949 (-3,477) 1,005,883 2,083 68,907 140,000 1,213,396
2002 784 1,743 171 36,187 68,014 118,143 233,961
Tota1 4,129 (-2,650) 1,083,750 67,569 400,155 697,612 2,257,139
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Division of Realty
Washington, DC 20240
http://realty.fws.gov
February 2003
Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge
Cover photo courtesy of Edward Orth, Birmingham, AL
